Assessing antibiotic usage data capture accuracy on dairy farms in England and Wales

Strang, Camilla; Alarcon, Pablo; Cardwell, Jacqueline; Brunton, Lucy

Abstract

Background: Accurate farm-level data on antibiotic usage (ABU) are needed for surveillance of antibiotic resistance. The study aim was to determine the accuracy of ABU data capture by dairy farmers in South West England and Wales.
Methods: Through a cross-sectional survey of 48 dairy farmers, accuracy of ABU recording was measured by farmers’ assessment of completeness and timeliness of ABU recording (‘perceived accuracy’), and completeness and correctness of on-farm ABU records (’actual accuracy’). Completeness and correctness were compared for paper and software recording methods.
Results: Perceived accuracy was higher than actual accuracy. Antibiotic name, withdrawal periods and dates products were fit for human consumption were often incomplete or incorrect. More inaccuracies were seen with paper than software. In some software platforms the date milk would be fit for human consumption was frequently rounded down by half a day, increasing the risk of residue failures.
Limitations: The small number of on-farm records assessed limits generalizability of the results.
Conclusions: Electronic recording of ABU should be encouraged. However, functionality needs improvement alongside consultation with dairy farmers to increase awareness of inaccuracies.

Citation

Strang, C., Alarcon, P., Cardwell, J., & Brunton, L. (2023). Assessing antibiotic usage data capture accuracy on dairy farms in England and Wales. Veterinary Record, https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3505

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 21, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Oct 10, 2023
• Publication Date: Oct 10, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 25, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 11, 2023
• Print ISSN: 0042-4900
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.3505
• Publisher URL: https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vetr.3505